Summary

In December, 2005, Ervin Cook was caught driving drunk just four months after he was released from prison for causing a deadly crash in 2000. Cook pled guilty Tuesday to Felony DWI, and could face up to six years in prison.Cook was involved in the high-speed chase Dec. 7 th on Interstate 35W. His car crossed the median, heading the wrong way.State Trooper Jeremy Solie followed him into the oncoming traffic, and hit the truck, spinning it around.Capt. Tom Fraser of the Minnesota State Patrol said Solie put his life at risk to protect other drivers."In this case, [Cook] is also drunk, he's trying to decide does he give up or not give up, does he try to run or not run, and he's doing it in a drunken fog,” says Fraser.Cook continued to flee police at speeds of up to 95 miles per hour, and exited onto Diamond Lake Road.Eventually, Cook pulls over, and a trooper hits his vehicle to block it in.Cook then told police, “If you're trying to figure out if I'm drunk, you're wasting my time. I'll save us both the time, because I am drunk."Cook is an example of problem drunk drivers. He had DWI convictions in 1987, 1990, 1996 and 1997. He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter after a drunk driving crash killed his passenger.Cook is an example of “the most dangerous people that we have in the state of Minnesota,” says Sharon Driscoll of Minnesotans for Safe Driving.Driscoll says more than 9,000 people in the state have five DWI’s on their record.Driscoll says instead of taking away a person’s driver’s license, the state should also take away license plates."This has got to stop and we've got to do something about it,” she says.